Pookie Robinson

Benny "Pookie" Robinson (1961-1990) was a Harlem stick-up kid and NYPD informant. Robinson was killed during his infiltration of the Cash Money Brothers gang in 1990, forcing his handler/friend Scotty Appleton and his partner Nick Peretti to infiltrate the gang themselves.

Early career
Benny Robinson was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City in 1961 to a poor African-American family. Robinson was a stickup kid before being shot in the leg by undercover policeman Scotty Appleton in 1986 after he stole some drug money from Appleton and ran through a public park. Robinson became homeless and poor after Appleton shot him, and he also became a crack addict, even beating up his own girlfriend over a piece of a turkey that he managed to beg for from Cash Money Brothers boss Nino Brown, who offered him a job if he could clean himself up.

Turning
One night, Appleton found Robinston struggling with his girlfriend in an alleyway over the piece of turkey, and he approached him, forcing the crack-addicted Robinson into rehab. Robinson hated him for doing so, but he later recovered and made friends with the other recovering addicts. Robinson left rehab, making Appleton proud; Robinson then offered to help Appleton bring down Brown, as he was searching for a new meaning after leaving rehab. Appleton was reluctant to do so, as he did not want Robinson to die, and he did not want him to go near crack again. However, Robinson told him that he already had connections with Brown and was therefore useful, and Appleton decided to bring him in on the operation. Appleton's partner Nick Peretti and boss Mario Stone were sceptical about bringing a former drug user in on the operation, fearing that he would relapse, but Robinson's experience as a criminal made him their best candidate for such a move.

Infiltration and death
Robinson worked as a guard at Brown's Carter Apartments home base, using a camera in his belt and a wire in his shirt to stay in touch with his police handlers. Robinson was later promoted after bringing in several new customers, but Brown had Gee Money and Kareem Akbar keep watch over Robinson to make sure that he was loyal. Robinson later relapsed into his drug use, and he began to insult some of the workers in the drug room while high. Gee Money confronted Robinson, and he tore open his shirt, finding a wire there. He then decided to have Robinson killed and the apartments burned down to eradicate the evidence of Brown's drug operation. Robinson was killed and a bomb strapped to his body, which was supposed to kill the policemen sent to rescue him during the ensuing Carter Apartments shootout. The bomb was later defused by Appleton and Peretti.